Day Deuce

March 5, 2010

The Jet-lag in full effect we were wide awake at 5:30, and made our way down to the hotel restaurant for some coffee and breakfast of rice soup (a western breakfast of toast eggs and bacon for Emma, Gross) This time of day was beautiful, with the quiet streets and tame temperatures. I vowed to always be up this early. Yet again, who am I kidding.

A side note here, the few Thai coffees I've had have been awful. It's a spoonfull something they call coffee and a ton of condensed milk and sugar. Makes me gag just thinking of it.

We set out to the downtown/municiple area of town to get my Vietnam and China Visa. After some Taxi haggling (everything requires haggling), we got to the Vietnam Embassy first and were suprised by the change of pace in this part of town full of business people. There was still tons of street food, but it was much more fast paced and down to business. I thought that the street food culture was more a tourist or leisurely thing, but it is actually a part of everyday life, as the Thai people were getting their coffee and breakfast from the various carts.

We walked around this area for a while and strolled through Lumpini Park, which feels similar to Central Park. Tons of grass, water and things to see and do.

Soon we set off to the Chinese Embassy, which we thought was only a couple blocks away. Two and half hours, 300 bhat, and no visa later we found out this was not the case. Our cab driver, Mr. Saktai, took us all the way to the edge of the city without knowing where he was going. We were pretty sure he was going the wrong way, but the language barrier was making us feel pretty angry, confused, and even a bit scared. Eventually, after multiple U-turns and talks with locals of direction we got him to turn us around and head to Wat Po with the meter turned off. We were verry furious at the guy, as we thought he was trying to rip us off, but at a stop for gas (yes we had to stop for gas 1.5 hours in) he and I had a good chat which contained no mutually unerstood words, yet led me to believe that this had been an honest mistake and he was just as confused as we were.

This has been a pretty hard line to draw here as so many people seem so genuine at first only to later try and overcharge you for something you don't seem to want. It's very hard to judge when someone is being genuine but hopefully we'll get better at it.

We finally got to Wat Po which is an amzing temple with the largest reclining Buddha in the world. Everything is extremely shiny and there were hundreds of life size Buddha statues (of the sitting variety) lining the walls. The grandeur of this place is awe inspiring, but it is hard to really appreciate it packed shoulder to shoulder all of which are more focused on getting a photo rather than enjoying where they are. Welcome to tourism I guess.

We walked back to Khaa San along the river, which was probably my favorite part of the day. Tons of street vendors lined the streets, selling what seems to be much more authentic than around the Khao San area. We had some tasty treats, which include a bag of clam type things which were extremely tasty, and walked through Thammasat University which was located right on the river. This was really cool to see how our peers spent their day, but we sissied out on exploring it in depth, worried that we'd get turned away from the library and other buildings.

Back at Khao San we started to take it for what it really is. A tourist centric area similar to Venice Beach, Tihuana, Bourbon street, etc. with everyone aggressively selling the same things at inflated prices to naive tourists. We have decided that the more time we spend here, the less we like it, which is a pitty as it has the potential to be such an amazing place.

We ate dinner at another street vendor, this time getting a tasty Tom Yum soup and a very mediocre Pad Thai. We shared a table with a very friendly yet overtly pessimistic Canadian woman who owns a Thai clothing line based out of Vancouver.

After dinner comes the interesting part as we stumbled onto a cart of bugs. I bought an assorted bag for 50 bhat and made way to a patio to enjoy them with a heavy hand of Chang.

About the bugs, my favorite were these little fried maggot/silkworm type things, and least favorite was the tiny grilled frog which tasted like burning rubber at best. The bugs turned out to be a bit of a party trick and an English guy joined us in trying to get the surrounding tourists to try them with us.

I faceplanted into bed at 1:30 and was immediately asleep. A long first full day in Bangkok, tons of fun.

I will now allow Emma to say something:

After waking from the nap I took while Sam wrote the above novel I can barely remember the day. Not really, I remember it perfectly - especially the part when the lovely Mr. Sakchai drove us all over Bangkok.

But let's not dwell on that. Downtown Bangkok is interesting. In some ways, it is a lot like the downtown of most of the cities I've visited. However, in Thailand there is a distinct street culture that sets everything apart. Thai people in business suits on their way to and from their jobs and meetings stop at small carts along the side of the road to grab a coffee or a quick breakfast. It is just as fast-paced as most big cities, but with more flavor.

The embassy trips aside, our first day was a good mix of the usual and the unknown. Wat Po, famous for its reclining Buddha, was definitely a highlight. The way the temples are built in Thailand reflects the care with which Thai people regard their religion and practices. The ornamentation on the buildings are incredible, and the Buddha, with his giant feet, certainly did not disappoint.

After walking along the river (always a good choice, since it tends to be about 5 degrees cooler along the water) we arrived back in our neighborhood and set out to find some dinner. We ate at a street cart, and talked to Canadian woman who is a frequent traveler of Thailand, seeking out her observations and recommendations. She taught us about the logistics of the street food market - informing us that all street food is technically illegal and vendors pay large sums to police and to street landlords to be able to sell their reasonably priced food.

While wandering lazily back to our hotel, the moment I have been fearing came upon us: Sam found bugs. I have never been able to boast of having a strong stomach, so for me, the idea of eating a large cockroach or beetle, did not sound even the least bit intriguing. 50 baht later, with a smile on Sam's face and a twist in my stomach, we posted up at a bar along Khao San to test out the merchandise. Needless to say, the bugs drew a lot of attention.

I ate a mealworm. I did not care for it, I will leave it at that. Nonetheless, we had a pretty fantastic time offering bugs to passersby and sharing the experience with other adventurous eaters.

One of our bug-friends was an English guy a little older than us who, after being laid 0ff from his 9 year stint at a factory job in England, had embarked on a trip around the world. Makes you think that the opportunities that sometimes force themselves up on you can be the most rewarding.